The proposed Booker and Tesco merger could have major ramifications on wine and drinks businesses even if they are not directly involved in either company. It also reflects the "rip up the rule book" trading conditions that all businesses are having to face to in these disruptive times.

Sainsbury's decision to introduce its own Chilean private label wine range is one thing. To do so with an uncanny resemblance to the leading Chilean brand Casillero del Diablo from Concha y Toro is quite another. What implications does this have for other wine brands and major retailers?

After years of growth Majestic's Commercial division hit the buffers this year when even its chief executive, Rowan Gormley, said its half year results were "disappointing". Ben Nicholl, the head of the on-trade division, explains how he plans to get to the business back on track, in an article first published on The Buyer

It must have been through some gritted teeth that wine producers took to social media recently to congratulate fellow producer, RR Wine in Chile, for having produced what is being billed as “the best wine in the world”.

During the week you will find Joe Fattorini quite happily blending in to thebackground in his day job as internal communications manager at Bibendum, one of the country's biggest drinksdistributors. But come the weekend, from mid-April, he will be transforming himself in to a prime time TV presenter in his role as wine expert on The Wine Show, ITV1's attempt to bring wine to a mainstream Saturday night audience. It's not quite Ant & Dec, but it will be on your TV just before them.

Here is an article I wrote for the new global bulk wine trading platform, www.vinex.marekt, on the challenges facing the world's wine industry and how successful companies in the future will be the ones who are fleet off foot and able to develop strategies for multiple channels.

If you want to get a clear picture on where the wine industry is heading then look no further than Robin Copestick of Copestick Murray, the wine brand, sourcing and distribution business, that has a sixth sense for sniffing out the best opportunities not just here in the UK but around the world with brands such as I Heart that are now in over 20 countries.

Here is an edited version of an article I produced for Meininger's Wine Business International on the challenges wine brands and regional bodies have when promoting their wines to different cultures around the world. But get it right and you can connect with a global audience.

Here's an article I have produced for Crown Cellars, the wine and spirits arm of Carlsberg, on why the term "premiumisation" in spirits is in danger of losing its meaning, but why bars, pubs, restaurants and suppliers need to go back to why it was such an important trend in the first place.

In this week's Grapevine I take a look at the rise and potential impact lifestyle brands, already so popular in the United States, could have in the UK off-trade. Keeping on the brands theme it also looks outside the wine trade and how specialist design agencies and brand activation companies believe wine businesses need to do build successful wine brands.

Ordering wine is probably the most awkward moment of any night out. So why can't the people tasked with selling it to you, make the whole experience a lot easier and less stressful for everyone? This is an article I wrote for the Crown Cellars trade website, the wine and spirits arm of Carlsberg, offering some pointers potentially for their customers on how we can all be inspiring when talking about wine if we put our minds and our mouths to it.

Within three years of taking over Accolade Wines in the UK it is now the number one supplier to each of the Big Four multiples. It has, no doubt, helped him now become the chief executive of the entire global business. So who better to give a ringside seat to the changes and challenges facing not just the UK wine trade, but the world's wine industry, than Paul Schaafsma

Here is an extended version of the interview I carried out with Andrew Bewes, managing director of national wine distributor, Hallgarten Druitt, for this week’s Grapevine – the fortnightly review of the wine trade I produce for the London Wine Fair. In it he talks about the challenges facing the wine trade and national wine distributors and what steps he is taking to make Hallgarten ship shape for the future.

Here is the second issue of Grapevine, the new fortnightly publication I am producing for the London Wine Fair, which looks to take a different, more sideways, analytical look at the latest events and trends in the wine trade.

I am pleased to introduce my new fortnightly newsletter I am producing for the London Wine Fair called Grapevine which looks to give an overview and some analysis on the latest big issues, news and views in the wonderful world of wine.